




CANNOT LEAVE THE LIBRARY. 



K 







Chap.. 



Shelf. 



3.X2.5 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



& 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

9—165 



3\X- /5#* •m/? 
^JV^O>^ 




Citizens of No Mean City 



AN ADDRESS 



BY 



HARRY TENNYSON DOMER, A. M. 



DELIVERED AT JOINT THANKSGIVING DAY SERVICE 

OF THE THIRD LUTHERAN CHURCH AND THE CHURCH OF THE 

REFORMATION, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, 

IN THE FORMER CHURCH, 

NOVEMBER 28, I907. 



PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR. 



PHILADELPHIA, PA. : 

LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 



3V-V3 5 

. 3a 




JAW 23 

CLASS A- AXc, *, 
COPY A. 



Copyright, 1907, 

BY 

HARRY T. DOMER. 



Co 

Cfceobore ftoosietielt, 

Cfje jftrst Cttt?en, 

as; Jje fe 

Cfje Jptrst ^erbant 

of tije ^tate. 



CITIZENS OF NO MEAN CITY 



1AM a Washingtonian born and bred, but I just 
missed being a Baltimorean. My father, I believe, 
was pastor of this church for exactly one month, and was 
then called away to look after a female college which he 
owned. Dr. Burke succeeded him, and has been here 
ever since. How we are the creatures of chance ! — 
in this connection, perhaps, I had better say miss -chance. 
Had those young ladies not required my father's atten- 
tion so urgently just at that time, things might have 
been different. I might have had the honor of being 
born in this beautiful city. As it is, I must forever 
labor under the political disadvantage of being a man 
without a State, of being an inhabitant of the one place 
in all this broad land of liberty where the people have 
no vote, where there is taxation but no representation, 
where there is government but no consent of the gov- 
erned, — where, in short, the Declaration of Independence 
is null and void, and of no effect whatsoever. Under 
the circumstances we Washingtonians can only put on an 
aspect of deep humility in visiting our more fortunate 
neighbors, and confess that we are nothing but Ameri- 
cans. 



6 CITIZENS OF 

I am glad to be here. I am glad to meet with you 
on this occasion, as you gather together in obedience to 
the President's proclamation recommending that on 
this day " the people shall cease from their daily work, 
and, in their homes or in their churches, meet devoutly 
to thank the Almighty for the many and great blessings 
they have received in the past, and to pray that they 
may be given the strength so to order their lives as to 
deserve a continuation of these blessings in the future." 

It is a blessed day, hallowed by the observance of 
our godly forefathers for many generations past. The 
harvests are gathered, the granaries are full — now 
pause, and render thy thanks to the Lord of the har- 
vest. 

Our nation was founded in prayer, it has increased 
and prospered in prayer, and in prayer its destiny is 
secure. 

You have done well to join together in this service. 
We Lutherans have so much for which to thank God. 
How fitting that we should kneel together ! His bless- 
ings are not confined to one single church ; they are 
scattered far and wide over all the churches, over the 
whole denomination here and elsewhere. 

Coming together like this helps us in other ways. It 
is broadening, it is strengthening, it is refreshing. I 
always pity the man who sticks too much at home. He 
misses some of the best things in life. He doesn't 
know what is going on around him; he doesn't know 
what fine people there are about him. He doesn' t know 



NO MEAN CITY. 7 

what it is to make friends — to let into his heart what 
John Hay calls the "sunshine of life." He loses in- 
terest in his fellow -men. He misses the virile contact 
between man and man, the give and take, the keen zest 
of sturdy fellowship. In short, he has no part in the 
great activities of the day, the gigantic forces throbbing 
on all sides of him, the things which go for the better- 
ment of mankind, and make life worth living. 

It is the same way with a church. We are so apt to 
get into ruts ; we are so apt to let the four walls shut 
out a wider view. We are so apt to forget that we are 
but a part of one great movement, members of one 
great organization, inspired by the same ideals, filled 
with the same aspirations, doing the same work. So 
we must strive to realize that there is something above 
and beyond ourselves. Our great Lutheran Church 
would not be the mighty force which it is to-day if it 
were not for its intense missionary zeal, its constant 
reaching out into broader fields. It would not give evi- 
dence of that future greatness which President Roose- 
velt, the far-seeing statesman that he is, predicts for it, 
if it were not for its great and growing benevolent 
operations. 

You Baltimore Lutherans ought to be proud of your 
city. This is one of the strongholds of Lutheranism. 
You have some of our greatest churches and some of 
our greatest church leaders here. This is the head- 
quarters of our Boards of Home and Foreign Missions 
— those twin agencies of our Church's expansion at 



8 CITIZENS OF 

home and abroad. On your territory stands the Dea- 
coness Motherhouse, whose ministry of mercy may be 
called the Red Cross Society of the Lutheran Church. 
Our new church magazine, the official organ of the 
General Synod, is controlled by Baltimore men. Two 
of its Editorial Committee of three are from this city, 
and the third used to be a pastor here. Your brow is 
crowned with many laurels, but upon your shoulders 
rests that heavy burden of responsibility which is an 
inevitable concomitant of high honors. 

Paul of Tarsus said to the Roman governor, ' ' I am a 
citizen of no mean city." And so I declare unto 
you, Baltimoreans, e ' You are citizens of no mean 
city. ' ' 

And aside from all denominational or religious con- 
siderations, you are citizens of no mean city : — Balti- 
more, the city of wealth, of commerce, of industry, of 
learning, of art, of culture, of social eminence, of all 
those things which enter into the highest lines of human 
endeavor and achievement. But, more than all this, I 
admire the indomitable will, the dauntless courage, the 
titanic strength of this city in facing and overcoming 
the effects of that terrible catastrophe of a little less 
than four years ago. I recently picked up an old news- 
paper dated February 8th, 1904, and my attention was 
arrested by such headlines as these, headlines which for 
once did not overstate the case — " Baltimore Now a City 
of Ruins!" "Business Section of the City Almost 
Completely Wiped Out ! ' ' " Wholesale Houses, Banks, 



NO MEAN CITY. 9 

and Newspaper Offices Reduced to Ashes ! " " High 
Winds Fan Flames into Fury ! ' ' " Fire Still Raging ! ' ' 
With bated breath I read the description of the awful 
scene : the avalanche of flame, the pall of smoke, the 
falling walls, the exploding dynamite, the gallant but 
unequal fight of firemen, police, soldiery and citizens \ 
and when your mayor found that the fire was getting 
beyond control, my heart was thrilled as I read the tele- 
gram for assistance sent to Washington, the prompt 
reply, the engines loaded on the waiting train, the 
clear track, the throttle wide open, and the wild ride of 
forty miles, faster than ever train had sped the distance. 
I can picture the scene in the Camden Station now, as 
the panting engine came to a stop, how the apparatus 
was quickly unloaded, and how the dense multitudes 
burst forth into cheer upon cheer as these fresh reinforce- 
ments dashed upon the scene. A laconic dispatch reads 
as follows : " The cheering seemed to inspire the fire- 
laddies of the National Capital, and they went to work 
with a vim. Every one of the Washingtonians fought 
the flames like Trojans. ' ' 

I tell you, it is times like these that stir men's hearts, 
that make the hot blood course through the veins, that 
draw men together into bonds of intensest sympathy 
and devotion. It is in times .like these that all barriers 
of class, of wealth, of social position are swept aside, 
and we recognize in our neighbor just his simple worth 
as a man and brother. 

It is also in such a calamity as this that we realize 



io CITIZENS OF 

our own human helplessness, our utter dependence upon 
God. Then do we appreciate the wondrous truth that 
God rules and reigns, that "all the inhabitants of the 
world stand in awe of Him. M As in the days of Moses, 
we behold once more His mighty majesty in the pillar of 
cloud and of fire, a consuming flame to those who ignore 
His commandments, a beacon of joy and salvation to 
them that fear Him. Like the children of Israel, it has 
led you through a time of trial, no doubt ; through the 
discouragements, the hardships, the sufferings of the 
wilderness ; but it has brought you at last into a Prom- 
ised Land of greater beauty, of larger resources, of 
wider possibilities and usefulness than you ever dreamed 
of before. 

"The man, or the municipality, fated to greatness, 
makes profit out of storm or sunshine, out of weal or 
woe, out of luck or disaster. " From the smoldering 
embers of that wide desolation has arisen "the public 
spirit of this stalwart town, like an invincible weapon 
forged in flame and tempered with the chill of adver- 
sity, ' ' ready for any achievement. From those charred 
ruins has arisen a new and grander city, truly monu- 
mental in its noble proportions, a witness to the un- 
shaken faith, the steadfast perseverance, the splendid 
heroism of its people. 

But in a broader, national sense you are citizens of 
no mean city. Well might Paul boast of the glories of 
Tarsus and of the free-born Roman citizenship which 
was his, but how much more may we of a later and 



NO MEAN CITY. II 

brighter day boast of the glories of America and Ameri- 
can citizenship ! 

In all the might of to-day — our vast empire upon 
which the sun never sets; our forty-six States with their 
teeming population of eighty million souls; our bound- 
less resources as yet hardly touched ; our wonderful in- 
dustrial development which not even a panic can stay ; 
our extended commerce which penetrates to every cor- 
ner of the globe ; our proud position in the councils of 
the world where we stand as peacemaker among the 
nations — in the midst of all these evidences of our 
power and influence we can hardly realize that this is 
only the one hundred and thirty-second Thanksgiving 
Day since our fathers staked ' ' their lives, their fortunes 
and their sacred honor ' ' on the hazards of war for liberty. 
All this in one hundred and thirty -two years ? It hardly 
seems credible. A few generations will cover it ; two 
sovereigns of England could almost span it with their 
reigns. Our national life is but a moment compared 
with the hoary civilizations of the old world. And yet 
the stupendous fact stands before us ! In all the annals 
of the human race there is not recorded such a fact as 
this. 

What a history ! What a glorious achievement ! 
We may well stand and declare ourselves "citizens of 
no mean city. ' ' And yet, this wonderful fabric has not 
been woven without toil, without sacrifice, without hard- 
ship. Never was that famous aphorism of Goethe's 
more true than in the case of America, "Beyond the 



12 CITIZENS OF 

Alps lies Italy." Our flowery Italy lies before us, but 
we have had our rugged Alps to scale. 

Glance down the vista of the years and see the 
struggles, the smoke of battle, the life-blood of our 
noblest manhood poured out on the nation's altars. 
Begin with the thunders of Bunker Hill where Warren 
fell. Then pass along the red lines of fire through the 
succeeding years of war, and see how the Alps of the 
Revolution rose up almost insuperable in the path of the 
weak and struggling nation. See the weary round of 
battles upon battles, reverses upon reverses ; treason, 
toryism, Indian massacre lurking everywhere; want, 
famine, suffering, sickness, raising their grim specters 
in the face of the devoted patriots ; cities burning, towns 
and districts laid waste ; all the resources of the mother 
country, the boasted ' ' mistress of the seas, ' ' brought to 
bear against them ; all this and more ; and then see the 
splendid spectacle of a brave and dauntless band of citi- 
zen soldiers, led by a modest citizen-general from the 
woods of Virginia, standing out like a wall of rock 
against all onslaughts, all perils, all reverses, all trials 
and discouragements, through winter's cold and sum- 
mer's heat, until at last the glorious dawn burst forth 
from the black thunder-clouds of night and rested on 
the splendid banner of liberty and independence waving 
proudly o'er the ramparts of Yorktown ! 

In the light of its birth I ask you to contemplate this 
American citizenship which you enjoy to-day. 

But our Alps were not yet passed. Italy did not yet 



NO MEAN CITY. 13 

spread her smiling valleys at the nation's feet. Pass 
over the intervening years of growth and development 
and come to that second season of awful trial, when no 
statesmanship, however gifted, could find a peaceful 
solution to the mighty problems which pressed for set- 
tlement, when the Sphinx vouchsafed no answer to the 
importunate question, " How can we save the State? " 
Then burst forth that "irrepressible conflict " in all its 
wild and awful fury. Again the thunders of battle 
rolled and reverberated over mountain, valley and sea, 
as in the weird grandeur of titanic death-grips " Greek 
met Greek ' ' in fratricidal strife and drenched the soil 
of America with its second baptism of blood. 

The fierceness of that struggle can only be appreciated 
by those who lived through it. We of a later genera- 
tion do not realize what a time of trial that was. But 
the echoes of the conflict may still be heard in the notes 
of the old songs which marked the progress of the 
war. 

First it was "Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are- 
marching ' ' ; then it was ' ' Tenting on the old camp 
ground ' ' ; then, as the armies lay opposed in hostile 
array, far off in one corner of the field, through the 
stillness of the night, a lonely, homesick voice could be 
heard plaintively singing, "Just before the battle, 
mother. ' ' And so the months drew themselves out 
into years and the gory round seemed to have no end ; 
the prospect of peace seemed to be well nigh hopeless ; 
and the yearning, the sadness, the suffering of the na- 



14 CITIZENS OF 

tion is heard in that pathetic refrain, " When this 
cruel war is over." But at last came Appomattox — the 
dictum from on high had gone forth, ' ' Enough ! Let 
there be peace ! ' ' And the swords were returned to 
the scabbards, the muskets were laid aside, the knap- 
sacks were lifted from the shoulders, and as the soldier 
boys broke ranks, from every quarter of the re -united 
country the grateful heart of the nation welled forth, 
with ineffable pathos, into the stanzas of that grand old 
song, " Home, sweet home.' , 

Does not your American citizenship gain some added 
meaning and value to you when you see how it has 
been assailed and how it has triumphed ? What won- 
der, then, that our hearts throb and our nerves tingle 
and we are filled with such pride and patriotic exalta- 
tion when our voices swell forth into 

* * My country, ' tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty ! ' ' 

But in the flush of victory let us not forget the 
desolate homes that knew no fond return. You will 
understand what I mean if you will cast your eyes along 
the Heights of Arlington overlooking the Potomac yon- 
der, and see the ranks upon ranks of slumbering hosts, 
sleeping the last sleep. As I gaze upon those silent 
tombs, I am reminded of that gallant band of heroes in 
the Pass of Thermopylae, and the inscription on the 
monument which marks their resting place, " Stranger, 



NO MEAN CITY. 15 

go tell at Lacedemon that we lie here in obedience to 
the laws. ' ' It was in defence of liberty and law that 
these, our unconquerable heroes, poured out their "last 
full measure of devotion. ' ' The capital they defended 
lies yonder at their feet ; the flag they carried to 
victory now waves its graceful folds, with subdued 
whisperings of gratitude, above their heads. The sol- 
dier's farewell has been spoken — " Taps " has sounded 
— Lights are out. 

1 * On Fame' s eternal camping ground 
Their silent tents are spread, 
And Glory guards with solemn round 
The bivouac of the dead." 

As we stand here with uncovered heads, it is for us 
to ponder well the duties, the privileges, the responsi- 
bilities of that splendid citizenship which has been 
bequeathed to us. It is for us to " highly resolve that 
the dead shall not have died in vain, ' ' to dedicate our 
lives to the great work which they ' l so nobly carried 
on, ' ' to consecrate ourselves to the high ideals which 
our citizenship imposes. We younger men and women 
are marching onward ; I trust, also, that we are march- 
ing upward. The future of America lies in our hands. 
I pray God that we may be inspired with the same lofty 
purpose, filled with the same noble endeavor, endowed 
with the same stern determination which our fathers 
have so truly exemplified. Then, and then only, can 
we hope to achieve the same success. 



1 6 CITIZENS OF 

I believe it was some such scene as this which the 
Prophet Joel had in mind when he wrote, " Your 
old men shall dream dreams ; your young men shall 
see visions." We sometimes hear complaints about 
our older people — that they live too much in the past ; 
but it seems to me that, with all their years of rich 
experience and tender memories, they have reason to 
live in the past, they have reason to " dream dreams " 
of the things gone by. What is biography but the 
recorded dream of a human life ? What is history but 
the recorded dream of events that are past ? Ah, my 
young friends, be not impatient when the prophet says 
"Your old men shall dream dreams." Rather see 
to it that your old age shall have dreams worth 
dreaming. See to it that your visions of to-day shall 
be in keeping with those dreams of yesterday. Re- 
member that these traditions, which have made our 
nation what it is, will be worth nothing to future genera- 
tions unless we exemplify them and make them voluble 
in our own lives. You must see life in a larger relation, 
in relation not only to the present but to the past and 
the future. You must carry on the work that has been 
entrusted to you ; you must see to it that this citi- 
zenship which you have inherited shall be exalted and 
not debased at your hands. You are bound to do 
something with your lives and your opportunities. You 
are bound to do it, I say, because you have been 
bought with a price. You are bound to do it because 
you are American citizens, because you are Balti- 



NO MEAN CITY. 17 

moreans, because you are Lutherans, because you are 
Christians. You have been bought with a price, a very 
precious price — the price of the trials and struggles, 
the toil and sufferings, the groans and the blood of 
those who founded this nation ; the price of the losses, 
the reverses, the hardships and sacrifices of those who 
have built up this city ; the price of the struggles, the 
persecutions, the scourges of those who carried forward 
the work of the Reformation ; the price of that supreme 
sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who 
suffered all the agonies of crucifixion that we might 
have eternal life. What a solemn thought this is ! 
What a heavy responsibility this is ! We are the heirs 
of the ages. What we are and what we have is not of 
our obtaining. We are endowed and our opportuni- 
ties are endowed, and we must use them aright. Presi- 
dent Roosevelt aptly expresses this thought in his 
Thanksgiving proclamation : 

" Nowhere else in the world is there such an oppor- 
tunity for a free people to develop to the fullest extent 
all its powers of body, of mind, and of that which 
stands above both body and mind, character. Much 
has been given us from on high, and much will rightly be 
expected of us in return. Into our care the ten talents 
have been entrusted ; and we are to be pardoned 
neither if we squander and waste them, nor yet if we 
hide them in a napkin ; for they must be fruitful in our 
hands." 

It is easy enough to live for ourselves alone, to fol- 



1 8 CITIZENS OF 

low our own inclinations, to give no thought to any- 
thing but our own personal advantage and enjoyment. 
It is easy enough to do this, I say — and many are doing 
it — but the way thereof, my friends, the way thereof is 
death. You are called to live a nobler and broader 
and richer life than that. You are called to live for 
others and for the Church and state, to exemplify in 
your lives a citizenship whose highest ideal is expressed 
in the two words, ' e I serve, ' ' 

But I believe that we have entered upon a happy era 
in this respect. I believe that men are beginning to 
appreciate the weight of this responsibility, to reach out 
after these higher standards of living and serving. I 
believe that men are beginning to live more public- 
mindedly, to take a greater interest in the activities 
around them, to appreciate the fact that they have a 
duty to the Church, the state and to their fellow-men. 

You and I have lived long enough to have seen the 
young men of the country spring to arms at an insult 
to the flag. True, it was but a skirmish compared with 
our other wars — a ' ' whiff of grape, ' ' and the thing was 
done ; but it served to show us that the young men of 
to-day are as good Americans as the men of yesterday, 
that the spirit of '76 and '6i still lives in the hearts of 
our youth. 

And in the Lutheran Church also we are even now 
in the midst of a truly remarkable manifestation of this 
spirit of service. You are aware, no doubt, of the 
movement recently inaugurated by the General Synod, 



NO MEAN CITY. 19 

called the "Laymen's Movement." It was felt that 
the Church was not doing the work which it could and 
ought to do, that it was not measuring up to its abilities 
or opportunities. Synod after Synod fell short in its 
contributions to benevolence. The work of our Boards 
was hampered by lack of funds, and as a result the great 
benevolent operations of the Church were made to 
suffer. What was to be done ? Where was the remedy ? 
Who was going to render the assistance that was so 
sorely needed ? In this emergency a very remarkable 
thing happened. Without any connection whatever 
with the broader movement throughout the country, 
without even knowing that there was such movement, 
the laymen on the floor of the Synod did the very same 
thing that had been done in other denominations. 
They took the matter into their own hands, they dis- 
cussed ways and means for improving church finances, 
and made themselves responsible for creating an inter- 
est, an enthusiasm, a zeal for church work among the 
men throughout all the Synods and congregations of the 
General Synod. This remarkable Movement, thus 
begun, has spread with wonderful rapidity east and 
west, north and south. The wave has now reached the 
District Synods and is rolling on in ever-widening 
circles. 

Much time was given to the discussion of this Move- 
ment at the recent convention of the Maryland Synod. 
Speeches were made there by ministers and laymen 
which stirred the Synod. In fact, it was said on the 



20 CITIZENS OF 

floor that the addresses at this time far surpassed in 
strength and enthusiasm those delivered at the incep- 
tion of the Movement in the General Synod itself. I 
was present on both occasions and know this statement 
to be true. 

It simply shows that the men are putting their heart 
into this Movement. It shows that they are awakening 
to the wonderful opportunities before them. It shows 
that they are coming to a clearer realization of the 
fact that the work of the Church is their work, just as 
much as it is the ministers' work. It shows that they 
are beginning to see that this great latter-day crusade 
must be carried on by men, and not alone by women 
and children. Too long have we left the brunt of the 
battle to be borne by the weaker members of our congre- 
gations. This is not said in disparagement of what they 
have done. Far from it. They have achieved glorious 
results. The strength and influence of the Church to- 
day is largely their work. But the battle has just begun. 
There are larger fields to occupy, there are mightier 
strongholds to conquer, and in this work we need men, 
big men, strong men, noble, consecrated, self-sacrificing 
men. 

Financial support alone will not do. The richest 
country in the world may be the weakest. But what 
we need, and must have, is the active co-operation, the 
resistless energy, the grim determination, the fiery en- 
thusiasm of the men in their actual physical presence 
on the field of battle. 



NO MEAN CITY. 2 1 

Where is the Peter the Hermit or the St. Bernard 
who shall lead us in this crusade ? Where is the 
prophet who shall stir our hearts with the old-time 
knightly fire and enthusiasm, who shall stir us to rise 
up in our might and possess these holy places, these 
foreign mission fields, these home mission fields, these 
other fields of denominational activity and endeavor? 
God grant that our men may be moved to give them- 
selves, the best fruit of their heart, hand and mind to 
this work, and to realize that vigorous, unflinching, 
self-sacrificing type of citizenship which our own in- 
domitable hero of the Reformation held up before us 
when he declared in words that ring through the ages — 
" Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help 
me. Amen ! " 

There is still another evidence of this great spiritual 
awakening which is taking place throughout the coun- 
try. This time it is in the state itself. I do not refer 
to the purging of our business system or to the condem- 
nation of rascality and dishonesty in positions of public 
or private trust. They are themselves indications of 
those demands which we are making for a higher type 
of citizenship, for a nobler and more vigorous type of 
manhood. But I refer to the inspiring, almost unex- 
pected victories which have been won in what has been 
called the "Battle of the Bottle." More wonderful 
than all things else in the past year has been the prog- 
ress which this movement has made, sweeping over the 
whole South and West, capturing the very strongholds 



2 2 CITIZENS OF 

of the liquor traffic. The last election, held this 
month, signalized some very notable successes. The 
anti -saloon sentiment was never stronger throughout the 
country than it is now. Where the movement used to 
be jeered and scoffed at and treated as a joke, it has 
now loomed up as a force to be reckoned with. It has 
struck terror and consternation in the ranks of the 
liquor dealers themselves. Recently this warning to 
its patrons was printed in the official organ of the liquor 
trade in the West. It says : ' ' You will need all your 
resources, all your grit, all your strength, and all your 
united power to preserve your rights and privileges 
against the flood-tide of unreasonable and unreasoning 
prejudices. ' ' When a beast howls like that you may 
be sure that he has been hit, and hit hard. 

I am not a member of the Anti-Saloon League. I 
am not a member of any prohibition or temperance 
society whatever. But I am an American citizen. I 
have been bought with a price — the price of all the 
worth and virtue that has entered into the fabric of this 
nation \ and not by the price, the terrible price, of dis- 
sipation, of vice, of sin. We are "citizens of no 
mean city, ' ' a city which looks to us for preservation in 
all its old-time beauty, purity and strength, a city which 
looks to us for the assertion of a citizenship of no mean 
sort. What a gulf there is between the citizenship of 
Christ and the citizenship of the devil ! Many men 
are led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 
He taketh them up into "an exceeding high mount- 

LOfC 



NO MEAN CITY. 23 

ain," and showeth them "all the kingdoms of the 
world," but he showeth them not the "glory of 
them." He doesn't have to do that. He simply raises 
his arm and says, "See all of these wretched cities, 
see all of these ruined homes, see all of these blasted 
lives of men, women and children ! All these things will 
I give thee — and the misery of them — if thou wilt fall 
down and worship me." No deception about it. 
Everything as plain as day, and yet we see the lamenta- 
ble, the unaccountable spectacle of those who pretend 
to be strong, clean men " crowding the road to destruc- 
tion as to a festival ! " Oh, the pity of it, the hell 
of it ! 

What do you think of that minister, that Lutheran 
minister, who recently gave utterance in the pulpit to 
such sentiments as these ? — 

"It is not a question as to whether there is to be 
beer or no beer ; the question is whether anybody has 
a right to interfere with the personal liberty of an- 
other, guaranteed to him by the Constitution of the 
United States. What is to prevent the prohibition 
people from demanding laws for the suppression of the 
sale and manufacture of cigars, or theater tickets, or 
anything else that should strike their fancy ? Where 
would it all end ? ' ' 

Not a question of "beer or no beer," but just a 
question of "personal liberty!" I am reminded of 
those last sad words of the virtuous Madame Roland as 
she bowed her head under the knife of the guillotine — 



24 CITIZENS OF 

" Oh, liberty, Liberty, what crimes are committed in 
thy name ! ' ' It is a name which is still made to cover 
a multitude of sins. If you call a man to account for 
his bad habits, he will answer you with "personal lib- 
erty, " his right to do as he pleases. 

Let me ask our reverend gentleman, if we have no 
right to interfere with the liquor traffic, how then have 
we any right to interfere with "opium joints" or 
" gambling dens," or any of the other plague spots in 
the body politic ? My friends, if this minister will read 
his Constitution of the United States with a little more 
care, he will be surprised, no doubt, to see it stated in 
the Preamble that this Constitution was ordained and 
established to secure the "blessings of liberty' ' — and 
not the curses. And note also these following words : 
"and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves a?id 
our posterity ." Ah! there's the test. Weigh your 
liquor traffic in accordance with that. What does it 
lead to in the long run ? What effect is it going to 
have on "our posterity" — our children and our 
children's children ? 

That Indiana judge rightly interpreted the spirit of 
the Constitution who recently handed down a decision 
to the effect that the saloon is so evil an institution that 
the State law licensing it is unconstitutional 7 In his 
opinion he declared that ' ' the State cannot, under the 
guise of a license, delegate to the saloon business a legal 
existence, because to hold that it can — [note these 
words]-— to hold that it can is to hold that the State 



NO MEAN CITY. 25 

may sell and delegate the right to make widows and 
orphans, the right to break up homes, the right to create 
misery and crime, the right to make murderers, the 
right to produce idiots and lunatics, the right to fill 
orphanages, poorhouses, insane asylums, jails and peni- 
tentiaries, and the right to furnish subjects for the hang- 
man's gallows." 

Read that, and re-read it ! Hold it up before those 
who prate about "personal liberty ! " It is one of the 
most telling blows ever dealt the liquor traffic, and 
should be repeated in every State in the Union. Thus, 
during the year just past we have had reason to most 
fervently thank God for the wonderful progress made 
in this fight. 

But we must not rest on our laurels, we must not rest 
content with the victories already won. We must use 
them as the basis for further victories. We have got 
to press on in the fight. We have got to go forward 
all along the line. The army that stands still is lost. 

I am reminded of an incident of Napoleon's cam- 
paigns. Napoleon had crossed the Alps and attacked 
the Austrians in the valley. His plan of battle had 
been most carefully laid, but, in spite of all his efforts, 
one after another of his generals had been defeated. 
Even the Imperial Guard itself had been driven back. 
Just as the day seemed lost, Desaix, the boy general, 
came sweeping across the field at the head of his cavalry 
and halted on the eminence where stood Napoleon. 
He had in his corps a drummer boy, a gamin whom he 



26 CITIZENS OF 

had picked up on the streets of Paris. The boy had par- 
ticipated in some of Napoleon's greatest campaigns, and 
had been present at some of his greatest victories, 
among others the victories of the Pyramids, and Mt. 
Tabor and the Bridge of Lodi. 

As the column halted, Napoleon shouted to the boy, 
"Drummer, beat the retreat!" The boy never 
stirred. Napoleon shouted to him again, " Drummer, 
I say, beat the retreat ! ' ' The boy stepped forward, 
he grasped the drumsticks in his hands and said, ' c Sire, 
I don't know how. Desaix never taught me that. But 
— I can beat the charge ! Oh, I can beat a charge 
that will make the dead fall into line ! I beat that 
charge at the Pyramids once. I beat it again at Mt. 
Tabor, and again at the Bridge of Lodi. May I not 
beat it here ? ' ' 

Napoleon turned to Desaix and said, ' ' We are 
beaten. What shall we do? " " Do ? " cried Desaix. 
"Do? Beat them! It is only three o'clock. There 
is time for a victory yet." And then, turning to the 
drummer boy, he shouted, "Up ! gamin, the charge / 
Beat the old charge of Mt. Tabor and Lodi ! ' ' 

A moment later, the corps, following the sword- 
gleam of Desaix, and keeping step to the furious rolls 
of the gamin's drum, swept down on the host of Aus- 
tria. They rolled the first line back on the second, 
and the second back on the third. Desaix fell at 
the first volley, but the column never halted. As the 
smoke of battle cleared somewhat, the boy could be 



NO MEAN CITY. 27 

seen in front of the line, marching straight ahead, and 
still beating the furious charge. Over the dead and 
the wounded, over the breastworks and ditches, over 
the cannon and batterymen, he led the way to victory ! 

And so I say, my friends, it is all well enough for us 
to congratulate ourselves on the ground which we have 
already won in this campaign for civic righteousness ; 
but we've got to do something more than that ; we've got 
to beat the charge ; we've got to go forward all along 
the line, every man, woman and child in his place, or 
the day is lost. 

May the Lord during the coming year lead us on in 
this battle to even greater victories than we have had in 
the past. 

And now, what unusual sight is this which we see in 
the broader field, the field of the world — the nations 
coming together to discuss plans for universal ' 6 peace 
and good will among men ! ' ' 

Does not the spiritual awakening, so evident in our 
own land, extend beyond our own shores ? Surely, in 
an international sense, we are "citizens of no mean 
city. ' ' 

Too long have we quailed under that challenge hurled 
from the icy Northland — that challenge of which Long- 
fellow sings in such stalwart verse : 

' ' I am the God Thor, 
I am the War God, 
I am the Thunderer ! 
Here in my Northland, 



28 CITIZENS OF 

My fastness and fortress, 
Reign I forever ! 
Here amid icebergs 
Rule I the nations. 

' ' Jove is my brother ; 
Mine eyes are the lightning ; 
The wheels of my chariot 
Roll in the thunder, 
The blows of my hammer 
Ring in the earthquake ! 

" Force rules the world still, 
Has ruled it, shall rule it ; 
Meekness is weakness, 
Strength is triumphant, 
Over the whole earth 
Still is it Thor's Day ! 

" Thou art a God, too, 
O Galilean ! 
And thus single-handed 
Unto the combat, 
Gauntlet or Gospel, 
Here I defy thee! " 

Too long has the defiance gone unanswered. Too 
long has the rule of force held sway. Too long has it 
been said, " Still is it Thor's day!" But now the 
combat of Gauntlet and Gospel is fairly joined — war 
has been declared on war — and the united voice of the 
Christian world rings out, "We accept thy challenge, 
Thor !" 



NO MEAN CITY. 29 

For the second time have the nations sent their 
representatives to The Hague to discuss plans for peace. 
And it should be a source of pride to every American 
that his country has taken a leading part in the de- 
liberations, and has contributed more than any other to 
make the Congress a success. 

When I contemplate these inspiring movements taking 
place in the Church, the nation, and the world to-day ; 
when I consider that they have just begun ; when I 
look forward to their wonderful promisings of future 
achievement, and see their " rosy footsteps on the 
mountains of coming years," I am reminded of the 
words of the dying Voltaire on the eve of the "splen- 
dors and marvels of the French Revolution, " which 
he was not to witness, l ' You young men are going to 
see fine things." 

So, you young men of to-day are going to see fine 
things. You are going to have your share, I hope, in 
the achievement of these fine things. And as you look 
out upon the great field of opportunities that spreads 
before you, not without its dangers and its hard problems, 
I call upon you to heed the stern admonition of the 
Apostle which saith, " Quit you like men ; be strong ! " 

Julius Caesar, advancing against Rome with his army, 
and hearing that all the senators and people had fled 
from the city, exclaimed, "If they will not fight for 
such a city, what city will they fight for ? " 

If we Americans, with the "meaningful history" of 
the past one hundred and thirty -two years of our 



30 CITIZENS OF NO MEAN CITY. 

nation's life to inspire us ; with all the successes of the 
present to encourage us ; and with all the hopeful, the 
radiant prophecies for the future to lead us on — if we 
will not fight for such a city, what city will we fight for ? 
Times change, leaders change. "Your fathers, 
where are they? and the prophets, do they live for- 
ever ? M Washington is gone, Lincoln is gone, McKin- 
ley is gone ; new prophets have come, and new issues. 
But there is one thing which lasts on and on, one thing 
which never changes, and that is the old-time manhood. 
The manhood of Washington was the manhood of Lin- 
coln, the manhood of Lincoln was the manhood of 
McKinley, the manhood of McKinley is the manhood 
of Roosevelt ; and to the farthest generations it will be 
the same manhood which shall rule our Republic, the 
same manhood which shall inspire and shape our policies, 
the same manhood -which shall carry us through the 
crises of our history and lead us on to fulfillment of 
the divine destiny which Almighty Providence has 
allotted us. 

"Oh ! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand 

Between their loved home and the war's desolation : 
Blessed with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land 
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation ! 
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just ; 
And this be our motto, * In God is our trust ! ' 
And the Star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." 



